One of the reasons why the San Francisco 49ers are having a stellar season would be none other than quarterback Brock Purdy. The second-year pro out of Iowa State is currently a frontrunner in the MVP race, leading the 49ers to a dominant season. Recently, Purdy cemented himself in the team’s record books, surpassing Jeff Garcia for the most passing yards in a single season by a 49ers quarterback.
Garcia recently gave his thoughts on the feat, citing similarities between himself and San Francisco’s young star.
“I think there are some things from a respect standpoint. He’s out there proving he belongs,” Garcia said, via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch. “And there’s probably a little bit of fire in his belly in the sense of wanting to prove that he has elite abilities. I had to have that fuel, that fire in me, in order to be what I needed to be on the field. I can see where he’s that guy,” Garcia added.
How the 49ers gave Garcia the opportunity he needed
It makes sense how Purdy’s name being called last in the 2022 NFL draft resonates with Garcia, considering what the latter went through in his younger days.
Going undrafted during the 1994 draft, Jeff Garcia spent five seasons with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League before being given a shot by the 49ers in 1999. Fast forward to four Pro Bowl selections and a couple of passing records later, the 51-year-old has proved to everyone that his hard work and perseverance paid off, no matter how long the road may have been.
Purdy, on the other hand, is also doing something similar. If one started watching the NFL at this very moment, then he’d surely be hard-pressed to believe that the young Arizona native was overlooked by most teams nearly two years ago.
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